Rainforest photos from Borneo

Last month, during a brief trip to Asia, I managed to spend two days out in the field in Borneo. The attached photos are a few highlights.

Aerial photography invites a level of uncertainty. The ground offers clues but rarely the full picture. Once the view lifts, the patterns emerge: peat-dark water cutting through forest, the abrupt change from canopy to cleared land, the geometry of river bends, or mountains rising in the distance. The colors can be startling.

Much of the process is waiting for light or finding the right angle. Clouds on the horizon can flatten everything, or they can break in just the right way. Weather on the horizon may help a shot or force me to pack up early. I spend the time making adjustments, trying to catch a view I didn’t expect when I launched.

There are boundaries too. Flying a drone does not grant permission to intrude. I keep clear of people, buildings, flight paths, and wildlife. The aim is straightforward: notice what’s there, and leave nothing changed.

There are more photos in the gallery. Some of the photos are more than 20,000 pixels wide at full resolution; I’m sharing small versions here.